


Rest Stop

by AutumnHour



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Awkward Tension, Barret attempts a lullaby, Barret is the big spoon, Bisexual Barret Wallace, Bisexual Cloud Strife, Cloud and Tifa are the little spoons, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I guess you could count this as a missing scene, Implied Jealous Sephiroth, Innuendo, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Mentioned Characters, Multi, OT3, One Shot, Pizza, Sharing a Bed, Sleep Paralysis, Some Humor, Takes place during Chapter 14, anxiety attack, night terror, very briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24813322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnHour/pseuds/AutumnHour
Summary: After a long painful day of helping Leslie in Wall Market, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa deserve a well paid rest. Afraid of being burdens to Elmyra, the party hesitantly books a stay at one of Wall Market's inns. Now that wouldn't be a problem if they had their own rooms, but the fallen plate's destruction put a lot of folks into hysteria. So much so, that every inn in Wall Market is full.Except for one. With only one available room with only one bed.Welp, you have to sleep where you can. Better than sleeping on the floor, right?
Relationships: Cloud Strife/Barret Wallace, Sephiroth & Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife/Barret Wallace
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	Rest Stop

**Author's Note:**

> Sharing a bed is cliche, I know. But I love this trope too much.
> 
> Disclaimer: I've only played the remake, so if some character personalities are inaccurate (*cough Sephiroth *cough), then know I was trying based on what I'm working with. Please don't spoil anything from the original game in the comments.

“I still don’t understand why we gotta spend the night here, anyway,” Barret complained, his steps slowing into a sluggish motion. After they left yet another inn, Barret lagged behind the rest of the way, forcing Tifa to pause in her tracks to face the gun-wielder appropriately. Her head sheepishly hung lower towards the ground, a common habit of hers whenever she felt regretful about something.

“I know that Wall Market isn’t your guys’ ideal depiction of home, but I thought since we’ve been working so hard, it’d be nice to rest here for a while,” she explained.

“We could just go back to Elmyra,” Cloud butted in, admittedly getting a little annoyed by all the inn searching that they have done for the past hour. The trio already had a tiresome day with Leslie and the Abzu battle in the sewers. In addition to all that mess, they needed to return to Marle so they could donate the expensive items from Don Corneo’s stashes to her. His buster sword was starting to apply stressful, unnecessary weight to his back, and he wanted to just rest already. Especially with the big day coming tomorrow where they would head topside. Cloud assured himself that his body needed to be in a stable condition if he wanted to fight Shinra and save Aerith.“Since the plate fell, you can bet that people from Sectors 6 and 7 are going to be crowding all the inns.”

Tifa sighed, “You’re right.”

Cloud watched how Tifa rubbed her gloves together while her eyes stared at the ground. Even if she was wearing gloves, he noticed that this was another habit. Frequently, she rubbed her hands together to wipe the sweat from her skin. Another sign of shame when she was aware that she was in the wrong. He regarded how she often considered the wellbeing of others before her own. 

“You don’t want to be a burden to Elmyra,” Cloud stated.

“That obvious, huh?” Tifa brought her hand to her heart, something that both Barret and her did whenever they spoke truthfully. But this gesture wasn’t too confident as her gaze still followed the ground. “It’s just...Elmyra has done so much for us already. I’ve been thinking about it, and it seems like that we’ve been treating her place like a hideout. She’s taking a great risk by letting Avalanche stay in her home.”

“That’s not any different from Aerith. She kept her hidden, knowing that Shinra was after her,” Cloud shrugged. Tifa let herself fall into a short silence at the mention of her captured friend. 

“And besides, Marlene and Wedge are resting there,” Barret said. Pursing his lips, he thought back to last night and the early morning. The shit that happened at Sector 7 really put a damper on his mood. He hadn’t been so horrified and livid in his whole life. The thought of losing his comrades and his precious Marlene terrified him. And after their partial failure, Barret didn’t want to take another risk that could potentially lead to the loss of his loved ones. Sitting on the floor with his back uncomfortably pressed against the edge of a bed wouldn’t be what he called suitable for slumber, but he went through far worse. All he needed was his angel safe and sound next to him, and everything was satisfactory in the world. Now that they managed to rescue Wedge too, his instincts became more protective.

“But remember what happened earlier today?” Tifa spoke up. “Shinra was looking for us, and they were able to locate Barret in Sector 5, right next to Elmyra. If they succeeded in finding her too, then…” The thought of those thugs breaking into Elmyra’s home and apprehending Marlene, Wedge, and she almost made her choke up. 

The two men gruffed in response. She did have a point there. 

Tifa shook her head furiously, “What am I saying? Even if that did happen, we're there to protect them, right?”

“One more inn,” Barret said.

“Huh?”

“Let’s look for one more inn. If they have openings for each of us, we can spend the night there. Just one night, and then we’ll say our goodbyes in the morning. If there ain’t nothing for us, then we’ll head back to Elmyra’s place. Those bastards could’ve gotten my little girl today, but thankfully luck was on our side. So let’s lay low, and we won’t draw any more attention to ourselves tonight. We owe it to Marlene and Wedge.” In a swift swipe, Barret tore off his shades and revealed his iconic, auspicious grin. “We can order pizza too!”

At the mention of the food, Cloud’s mind instantly recalled Jessie’s own excitement in response to his agreement in visiting her home. 

_“I make a mean pizza, I’ll have you know! Marche, luche, black milly, red shelly—I use only the best ingredients!”_ It was as if Barret matched the same enthusiasm, and that both pained and flustered him. The man possessed this innate ability that easily motivated those around him with seemingly minimal effort. Yet it proved to be admirable and effective all the same. Remembering Jessie only made Cloud hastily look behind him, crossing his arms to conceal any semblance of discomfort that he had. 

“Hers would be better,” Tifa mumbled, possibly thinking the same as Cloud. Barret seemed to not hear the comment as she softly chuckled to herself and said more clearly, “Pizza would be nice!” She pointed ahead of her, “C’mon, I think there was one more inn over by the chocobo stations that we haven’t checked yet.” Once the three nodded in understanding, they headed on their way. 

Strangely, Barret allowed Tifa to stroll in front of him, leaving himself out of her earshot with Cloud. He gave an expectant glare in the gun wielder’s direction, questioning the proximity of their distance without actually saying anything. Barret took this as his cue to speak.

“How’re you feeling, merc?” He asked.

“I don’t care where we sleep. Elmyra’s, Wall Market, none of it matters to me,” Cloud replied in his usual cold but otherwise careless tone.

“You _do_ care. About Tifa and the others, I mean.”

“Where’d you get _that_ idea?” Cloud continued to play it cool despite the statement setting him off a little in his thoughts.

“Now don’t act all macho now, SOLDIER Boy. I saw you go after Tifa when she stormed out of her room last night.” Before Cloud could retaliate, Barret elaborated, “Back in the slums, Tifa would have trouble sleeping sometimes. Whenever she’s tripped up about something, she likes to think. I learned about this when I came back home from a late-night mission, and she was watching the stars outside her room. Of course, she was surprised to see me, sayin’ how she actually didn’t expect for me to come back ‘till morning. And you know how Tifa is. She’ll keep saying that nothing’s wrong, but her body language shows that she’s bottling up inside. I knew because I reassured her that I used to do that too. So I know, SOLDIER Boy, and I’ve been getting to know you too. I always thought you were a smartass, which you are, but Wedge was right. Underneath, you’re a huge softie, ain’t ya?!” Barret slapped a hard pat on Cloud’s shoulder, resulting in a light blush from the blond.

“I didn’t ask for a life story. Tifa, hold on!” Cloud called, shoving off Barret’s hand. As he hurried, he heard Barret loudly laugh behind him. He tried to get that dumb, amused smirk out of his head while also trying to remain levelheaded next to Tifa.

* * *

“Are you serious?!” Barret’s voice boomed and bounced off the inn’s walls.

“Can you be any louder? People sleep here, y’know,” Cloud said in annoyance. He didn’t earn a response from Barret, but he caught a sharp glare of his from the corner of his eye.

“Oh jeez,” Tifa muttered, tracing her left temple with her fingertip sheepishly, equally perturbed by the news. “Are you sure that there aren’t any more rooms?”

The innkeeper shook his head, “Sorry, every other room is booked. Y’all came in just in time for this last one. And if it ain’t to your liking, then too bad.” Suddenly, the innkeeper leaned closer, his elbows colliding with his desk. “Though I’m sure you three can find pleasure in yourselves. Especially with this fine sexy girl here with ya. We accommodate everyone's needs, and a threeway is something we do not discriminate.”

Tifa turned her head away with a scoff at the innkeeper’s perverted grin and wiggling eyebrows. His skin paled when he felt a large hand harshly grip his right arm. Fearfully, his eyes followed the expression of a pissed-off Barret. Cloud even found himself reaching for the handle of his buster sword in a protective stance. 

“Don’t get any funny ideas,” Barret growled. When the innkeeper meekly nodded, Barret threw him back into his swivel chair. He was afraid that people would get that impression when they heard the bad news. Sleeping in a single room with Tifa and Cloud?! In one bed?! The predicament was inappropriate for his nature. Every part of him just wanted to storm out of here and return to Elmyra’s residence. But the thought of Tifa’s guilt encouraged him to ponder over his choices.

“B-But really, there’s only one room available,” the innkeeper stuttered, readjusting his necktie. “Make your choice now, or someone won’t hesitate to snatch this opportunity from you.”

Tifa glanced at the two men: Cloud appeared unbothered as usual while Barret’s face was a conflicted, flushed mess. She almost giggled to herself at how cute they looked. But was her inner turmoil worth sacrificing Cloud and Barret’s comfort? She didn’t want to remain a burden on Elmyra’s shoulders, but at the same time, she apprehended her friends’ choices to relieve her own stress. Understandably, the two only agreed on staying at an inn for her sake. Worry may have been a factor as well, but ultimately, they were thinking of her own wellbeing. The pit of her stomach constricted around itself as she grew disgusted by her own selfishness.

“Fine. We’ll take it,” Cloud said, earning surprised glances from Barret and Tifa. 

“We’re really going to stay here?” Tifa asked, wondering why _Cloud_ of all people was willing to accept this. A part of her secretly hoped that Cloud actually enjoyed their company.

“All three of us might not even fit in that teeny bed!” Barret pressed.

“The room that you picked out is actually a master suite with an _almost_ king-sized bed,” the innkeeper mentioned.

“Stay out of this!” Barret shouted in a quick manner, not with any rude intentions, just jittery from the situation. Though, that didn’t stop the innkeeper from shrinking in his seat.

“We’re here just to eat and sleep. _You're_ the ones who are making it weird,” Cloud dismissed. On the inside, however, Cloud admitted that he was just as embarrassed as the other two. His words seemed to be on the edge of reassuring _himself_ more than them. Tonight, he would be huddled up with Barret and Tifa. Potentially, Tifa’s soft hair would tickle his neck and chest while Barret’s burly arms would be wrapped around him. _Dammit_ , he scolded himself, shooting his head in the other direction. To Tifa and Barret, it was just another one of Cloud’s trademark, standoffish head turns, but for him, it was to avoid any witnesses of his dusty pink cheeks. 

If he convinced himself that this was only a matter of unlucky circumstance without any romantic implications, then everything was fine. Right? SOLDIER training never prepared him for this!

“Cloud’s right. We just need a place to stay,” Tifa calmed herself with a confident smile, but she still wanted to make sure if Barret was fine with it. “But if you don’t want to Barret, then we could always leave.”

 _No fear! No fear! We’re just sleeping together, that’s all. Not the sexual kind! Just the z’s and counting sheep!_ Barret’s lips trembled, but he forced a fist pump anyway. 

“Well, let’s roll!”

* * *

The innkeeper wasn’t lying—it really was an _almost_ king-sized bed. It fit all of their bodies, yes, but all of their feet dangled at the end of it. Its width acquired them perfectly, but its length was mediocre. Even Barret’s heavy gun arm hung at the edge of the bed, harshly scraping against the wooden floorboards. 

Besides the awkward sleeping arrangements, Barret and Tifa managed to fall into a slumber quite easily. Maybe they were just exhausted by the recent events, or they adjusted themselves to the situation quickly. They were close after all, emotionally and literally. Barret laid on his back, his normal arm stretched across the other pillows. Next to him, Tifa dozed in the middle of the bed, wedged between Barret and Cloud respectively. Her body leaned closer to Barret’s side as she faced him, and her head neared the side of his chest.

On the other hand, Cloud isolated himself to the far left corner of the bed with his back facing the other two. If he could, he would have included more proper measures to keep his personal space by building a literal pillow blockade on his side. But since the bed only contained three pillows, Cloud scooted farther away from the rest. It was the most efficient way where he could hide his nervousness without it looking too suspicious, considering what Barret and Tifa knew about him. 

From what he recalled, Cloud was actually the last one to fall asleep. Truthfully, he endured some trouble tonight. Barret was a loud snorer—a really loud snorer. He wondered how the hell Tifa was able to tolerate the obnoxious noise, especially since she was closer to him. Eventually, Cloud fell asleep with the help of curving his pillow around his ears to mute the snores. 

Until his eyes opened themselves and his position changed to where he lied on his back instead. That wouldn’t be a huge problem if this was any other normal night in his usual sleeping quarters, but his body remained frozen to the sheets. He tried lifting his arms. Nothing. He tried turning his head so that he could look at Barret and Tifa more clearly. Nothing. He tried calling their names. Nothing. His words only came out as little gurgles in his throat. 

What was happening? Was he being attacked by those specters again? A new ability that forced their foes in place, maybe? Glaring to his far-right, he remembered how he left his buster sword resting along the wall there. Indeed it was there, but it all felt hopeless when he finally noticed the figure that lingered beside it. 

Catlike sea green eyes steadily analyzed his body. Long, silver hair made him pop out in the overall darkness that included the room and his black clothes. The most irritating and creepiest thing for Cloud was the malign smirk that the figure wore on his glossy lips that never changed into a frown. Ever.

Sephiroth.

Cloud struggled to move any part of his body, but his efforts were futile. His movement would’ve rivaled the likes of a thrashing if he was actually able to mobilize himself. It was as if someone sat on his chest with no intention of letting him loose. All he could do was lie here and watch. And he hated his loss of control, unable to save anyone while letting things pass.

Sephiroth seemed to notice Cloud’s peril as he lightly chuckled, “So much vulnerability, and you still plan to attack me.”

He was alone. Just as he had always been. Just as he always preferred it. Yet occasionally, his blood-shot eyes raced to meet the sleeping forms of Barret and Tifa, hoping and begging that they would awake and save him. 

A deep grunt burst through his lips as his surroundings became clouded with static. He felt the incoming migraine burn within his mind, the dreading sensation similar to being shocked with thousands of electric bolts. Without being able to move, Cloud couldn’t grasp his head in order to ease the pain a little. Paralyzed and forced to just sit there and take it like he was a patient suffering through electroshock therapy.

Alternatively, Sephiroth did it for him. He placed his gloved hand on Cloud’s forehead and caressed it, like a mother soothing a child under a fever. His touches felt tender and sometimes he stroked his blond locks too. The environment shifted into its regular darkness, and the excruciating buzzing diminished into dull tingles. His heart pounded in his chest, waiting to burst and spill all over. 

Sephiroth grinned, drinking in Cloud’s confliction. After everything that had occurred in their history, the war hero hadn’t hurt the ex-SOLDIER since his return. Yet. This was all just another game. One with an undoubtedly cruel ending that Cloud was well accustomed to Sephiroth pulling off. Whatever was going on between them right now, no matter how calming it felt to Cloud, still made him feel repulsed. That’s what he wanted. To make Cloud wallow in the fields of a guilty pleasure. 

Suddenly, Sephiroth vanished. As his hand abandoned his head, the room returned to its haze. Albeit tamer this time. Cloud heard a flash to his right, so he quickly shot his eyes in the noise’s direction. Sephiroth’s tall body now peered over Barret and Tifa. This room only had one vacant window that allowed the moonlight to peek in, offering a single beam to shine over the two like a beacon. The curtains violently swished from the strong winds outside that spawned out of nowhere. Cloud could feel the anxiety rise in his body as he caught a glimpse of Sephiroth’s extensive sword.

It was agonizing, seeing his enemy graze the cold steel along Tifa’s cheek. Thankfully, his strokes were careful enough not to draw blood. 

“She hasn’t changed,” Sephiroth said. “And yet, she’s noticed that you have changed tremendously. She often gets lost in your hateful eyes, just as you do in hers.” Revealing a short view of his teeth, Sepirtoth’s growing smile almost looked like a crazed sneer. The sword left Tifa and then landed near Barret’s right eye. He practically traced over the scars. “Barret Wallace. Another individual that you hoped to push away, but he seems to fire back. Excites you doesn’t it, Cloud?” 

Lifting the sword away from them, Sephiroth’s eyes shot in Cloud’s direction at an inhuman speed. Cloud contemplated if he was facing a demon.

“I would kill your friends at this very moment Cloud, leaving us alone to enjoy our time together. However, everything has not yet fallen into place. I intend to bind myself to fate’s restraints at the moment. As for now…” Sephiroth raised his sword and gave a merciless slash to Barret and Tifa. White blinded his vision.

“No!”

“Cloud?” Tifa’s startled form immediately rose once she felt Cloud’s tight hold fall onto her shoulder, pulling her close to his chest. Hesitantly, she pulled herself away from him so that she could get a clearer picture. The sight worried her immensely. Here Cloud was, trying to hold both Barret and her in a vice grip. His eyes were red, stricken with bloody lines, and his cheeks were tear-stained. His chest heaved in a repeated motion, hyperventilating. Finally aware of what he was doing, Cloud released them and brought his hand to his mouth in a terrified gape.

“I-I’m…”

“Cloud, you were shaking in your sleep and suddenly grabbed us. What’s wrong?” Tifa’s voice had an edge to it that came off as stern.

No response. Cloud fiercely turned his head and placed his hand over his face to hide it. A part of Tifa couldn’t help but feel frustrated. She noticed that Cloud had these “episodes” where he doubled in pain and acted brashly. Although he never elaborated on it, she knew that he concealed something that he refused to share. As customary as this was to his character since she knew him since they were children, it didn’t make Tifa feel any less worse. Just once. Just once could he open up to her, so that she could help him? This powerlessness always made her feel so useless as she just watched those who suffered around her, unable to do anything. But she could try helping him in little ways.

“I’ll call room service to get you a glass of water,” Tifa reassured. No answer came from Cloud besides a muffled hum. By accident, Tifa’s maneuvers out of the bed slightly startled Barret awake.

“Hm, what’s going on?” Barret asked in a groggy voice.

“I’m just getting a glass of water for Cloud,” Tifa simply answered, dialing the room service number on a yellow telephone that rested on an end table. Accompanying it was an electric clock, blaring red numbers that read “3:23 a.m.” and a blue table lamp with a flowery design. While she waited for an employee to pick up, Tifa switched the lamp on.

“You wakin’ everyone up from their beauty sleep just for that, merc? Couldn’t get it yourself because you’re scared of the dark?” Barret loudly yawned, not hesitating to insult the blond. He sat up to look at Cloud after rubbing his eyes, expecting him to follow with a snarky comment or even a “hmph.” Barret softly smirked at the anticipation until Cloud didn’t bother giving him a response at all. In fact, it unsettled him, especially how Cloud’s back faced him. His foreboding shadow snuck onto the walls due to the lamplight as the ex-SOLDIER moved to sit at the edge of the bed, his head lowering to meet his lap. Barret decided to leave the conversation there.

Ending the call, Tifa slowly walked towards Cloud who still made little to no movement. Quietly, Tifa placed herself next to him and gently hugged her arms around his waist. He slightly flinched and raised his head in surprise as the brawler buried her face into his right shoulder. Apprehensive but also slightly content by the notion, Cloud allowed himself to bask in her warmth. Little by little, he could sense his trembling form and racing heartbeat lessen into something milder.

A few minutes passed when Tifa heard an urgent knock at their room door. Hurriedly, she opened it and politely thanked the employee for the drink. With a soft sigh, Tifa walked over to Cloud, “Here.”

Avoiding her gaze, Cloud accepted the glass and brought it towards his lips in a shaky grip. Unsure of what to do with herself, Tifa watched him as he took slow sips. 

“Do you want any more pizza? We have some left over,” she requested, hoping to ease the tension a little. 

When Cloud was unresponsive, Barret perked up, “Sure, I’ll have a slice. Sausage.”

“Coming right up.” Tifa skipped towards another table, opening a carton pizza box. The trio ordered pizza like they promised from a local pizza restaurant in Wall Market. One large pizza with half being pepperoni and the other half being sausage. Their theory was correct. Nothing could ever beat Jessie’s pizza. Cheap pizza like this one proved to be either too saucy or too cold. Jessie always handled her cooking with the best ingredients to ensure that the pizza would come out extraordinarily perfect. Giving a timid smile, Tifa placed Barret’s sausage slice on a paper plate and a pepperoni slice on her own. 

“Thanks, Tifa girl,” Barret said once Tifa handed him his plate. She nodded in response. In between his savage bites, Barret got a good look at Tifa’s eyes. The edges were a dark purple, and they were bombarded with wrinkles underneath the lids. He concluded that Tifa only pretended to sleep, recognizing that look when he saw it. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” Barret asked, wiping away the drip of cheese that slid over his chin.

Tifa gave a look of surprise at the observation before she humorlessly chuckled. “Guess not,” she admitted. “It comes with sleeping in an unfamiliar place is all.” If she waved this off as some type of homesickness, then Barret wouldn’t have to worry about her. She hated it when people bothered with her. Taking her place in the bed, Tifa sat in a vajrasana pose, facing Barret.

Barret could see through Tifa’s distress like a crystal veil, but he didn’t want to press the issue further. If she wanted to discuss her feelings, she would open up about it, and he respected that. It was frustrating, as he wanted to be there for help. Motivate her with strong, courageous words. But he couldn’t force it to happen. Damn, he felt useless. His eyes wandered to the nearby window where a tranquil breeze chilled the room to a comfortable temperature.

“I wish we could do this. With Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge,” Barret said, a melancholic smile crossing over his lips. 

“They always made pizza time fun, didn’t they?” Tifa added, staring at the ruffled blanket below them. Why couldn’t things be different? Why couldn’t they just live a normal life without Shinra? Without Avalanche? A world where everything was calm, and they all ate Jessie’s piping hot pizza together? Yes, Tifa believed in fighting for a good cause. But after losing Cloud, her village, her friends, there were times when she wished that she lived in a different reality. Where everything was perfect.

“Once we kick Shinra’s ass today, they’ll return to _us._ And we could make this all feel right,” Barret clutched the pizza crust, digging holes into the bread that sunk to his fingertips.

“One day,” Tifa agreed, always finding that Barret’s optimism made things a little brighter. 

The abrupt spring from the left side of the bed caused Barret and Tifa to instantly jolt at the noise. They watched as Cloud finally stood up, revealing his face. It appeared normal, minus the tiny specks of pink that were still left in his eyes. 

“You okay, Cloud?” Barret asked.

“Yep,” he replied, setting his glass on the table next to the pizza box. “Thanks, Tifa.”

“Y-You’re welcome,” Tifa choked. It both amazed and concerned her that Cloud remained nonchalant as if he was purposefully trying to ignore what had happened earlier. _At least he’s talking now_ , Tifa thought in relief.

“I just had a night terror, that’s all. Happens all the time. Once I collect myself, it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

“Do you think you’ll have trouble going back to sleep?” Tifa asked.

Cloud briefly paused. He surely didn’t want to experience that again. The thought of falling asleep only to wake up, trapped again, sprouted a cold sweat. “Maybe,” he affirmed. 

A sudden blush spread over his cheeks when he glanced over at Barret and Tifa. He forgot that they were all wearing white robes. Tired of staying in their sweaty clothes from working tediously all day, they hesitantly wore clean robes made of silk that the inn offered for the guests. Seeing those two wearing them while munching on cold pizza radiated this adorably domestic aura around them. Cloud forced himself to steer away his stares.

“Well, we can’t have that can we?” Barret bellowed, getting out of bed. “Chop chop, merc, get yourself into bed! All three of us need to be in great shape if we’re gonna take on those Shinra bastards later on today, and I don’t need your moody ass yawnin’ on the job! You know how you go to sleep? With music! It always helps me if I can’t sleep.” Sidestepping past Cloud, Barret reached to turn on a retro radio that every room in this inn contained instead of a television. He also turned off the table lamp. As Barret returned to the bed, Tifa gave Cloud an amused chuckle and patted the sheets. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Cloud joined the group in bed.

Barret had switched the radio to a jazz station with chill beats that he enjoyed listening to during late nights like this one. And now that he had two of his closest friends here with him, it made him feel warm inside. Forming a devious smirk, Barret seized Cloud and Tifa into his arms, laying them on his broad chest.

“What the hell?!” Cloud exclaimed, immediately reaching to shove Barret away from him. “Let me go, dumbass.” 

“After you just said that you had a night terror? No way! You probably had it because you were trying to sleep by your lonesome. That was the planet’s way of telling you that this is a team effort! We’re _all_ going to sleep tonight, together!” he said. 

“You can’t argue with that,” Tifa agreed, laughing.

“Tifa, don’t encourage him,” Cloud grumpily muttered.

“We ain’t lettin’ you go until we’re sure you’re okay, merc. It ain’t just about the rescue later. We’re worried for you.”

“Tch, let’s just go to sleep.” Defeated, Cloud tried to ease into the bed. The fact that Tifa was smiling at him and Barret said those kind words might make him cry again. 

“Would a lullaby help too? How about something like-” Barret started to hum the familiar tune that every toddler heard in their early days before he started singing, “Rock-a-bye Cloud, in the rotting pizza. Just go the hell to sleep, that’s a good idea-”

“No thanks. I want to keep my eardrums intact, thank you very much.”

“Hey!”

“Alright you two, let’s get some rest now,” Tifa kept the peace, struggling to not hurl with laughter. _And he’s back to his snide comments too!_

Pouting, Barret pulled the other two closer, making sure that they were comfortable in this lumpy bed together. “My singing ain’t bad,” He mumbled.

“No. It’s just your lyrics need a little work.” Barret tsked at her honest comment.

“Goodnight,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Goodnight,” Tifa replied, doing the same. 

Of course, Cloud remained silent. Minute by minute, he found himself staying awake, blinking every so often. Not because he feared for another night terror, actually quite the opposite. He wanted to savor this occasion. The comforting darkness, Barret’s warm body against his, the sound of Tifa’s steady breaths could be a suitable lullaby in itself. It all brought something within Cloud. A genuine, nostalgic bliss that he hadn’t felt in a _long_ time. _This doesn’t feel so bad._ There. He admitted it. After they would invade Shinra’s headquarters to save Aerith, he vowed that he would feel this again. His will to pursue onward would stem from _this._ Here with his friends.

That final realization helped Cloud close his eyes, letting the resounding beats from the radio soothe him into a dreamless sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this! Cloud, Barret, and Tifa's dynamic are seriously the best. I Hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry if Sephiroth may seem a little out of character here. I don't know much about him based on the remake, but I tried my best. He was a little difficult to write.


End file.
